Opportunities

Academic Opportunities

Departmental Awards and Fellowships

Helena Percas de Ponseti Senior Award

In the spring of 2000 former Grinnell Spanish professor Helena Percas de Ponseti generously established an endowment that permits the Department of Spanish to recognize the superior achievement of a graduating major through an award of $2500.The Department will select a senior Spanish major taking into account the following criteria:

At least a 3.5 GPA in the Spanish major

At least an overall 3.0 GPA

Quality of the academic work in the major

Evidence of a commitment to the study of Hispanic culture (the student's activities outside the classroom, for example, their involvement in supporting activities [lectures, visits by Hispanic authors, etc.] sponsored by the Department, Spanish Lab, the Spanish SEPC, recruitment of faculty).

Dennis Perri Junior Award

Former Grinnell students Philip Guarco and Kathryn Jackson generously established an endowment that permits the Department of Spanish to recognize the achievement of a Spanish major through a yearly monetary award.The Department will select a junior Spanish major taking into account the following criteria:

At least a 3.25 GPA in the Spanish major

Successfull completion of at least three semesters of Spanish beyond Spanish 217

Conscientious and dedicated junior in all of his or her Spanish courses

Evidence of a commitment to intellectual life of the Spanish Department in and outside of class (including attendance to speakers' presentations, Spanish table, Spanish House activities, participation in newsletter, and Spanish Laboratory)

James C. Randall '94 Memorial Fellowship

James C. Randall was a Spanish major who spent 13 months living and studying in Santiago, Chile, during his third year as a Grinnell Student. Jim’s experience in Chile facilitated his fluency in the Spanish language and greatly enhanced his awareness of, and interest in, the cultural and geopolitical environment in Chile and neighboring South American nations. Jim spent his summer vacation in Chile working with a program that constructed community facilities in rural villages.

The goal of this fellowship is to support a second- or third-year Spanish major or a Latin American Studies concentrator who wishes to carry out research or enhance a study abroad experience in Spain or Latin America. A wide range of projects and activities will be considered, though preference will be given to those who make a connection between their proposed activities and their academics in the project description. Applicants should submit a letter of interest of three to four double-spaced pages that details the individual’s plan, provides information on her/his preparation, explains how it relates to her/his interests and/or focus of study, and includes a brief budget. Each applicant should also submit a copy of her/his transcript. It is recommended that those planning to do service work or intern with an organization provide a letter from the group or organization that indicates their agreement with the plan. Fellowships will be awarded based on student achievement in Spanish and Latin American Studies courses, as well as the academic merit and overall quality of the project.

For more information, please contact Yvette Aparicio (Chair of the Spanish Department) or Valerie Benoist (Chair of the Latin American Studies Concentration).

External Scholarships and Fellowships

Internship Grant Programs

Current 2nd and 3rd year students are eligible to apply for grants to support unpaid summer internships typically not available during the academic year or accessible without the funding. Funding is available through topical programs in prairie studies, global development, business, gender and women's studies, international relations, applied technology, world population control, writing, religious leadership, environmental studies, arts & museum administration, Chinese studies and conflict resolution.

Boren Scholarships

Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin American, and the Middle East.

Marshall Scholarships

Marshall Scholarships finance young Americans of high ability to study for a degree in the United Kingdom. Up to forty Scholars are selected each year to study at graduate level at an UK institution in any field of study.

Mitchell Scholarship

The Mitchell Scholarship Program, named to honor former US Senator George Mitchell's pivotal contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process, is designed to introduce and connect generations of future American leaders to the island of Ireland, while recognizing and fostering intellectual achievement, leadership, and a commitment to community and public service.

Up to twelve Mitchell Scholars between the ages of 18 and 30 are chosen annually for one year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by institutions of higher learning in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Rhodes Scholarships

Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest international educational fellowships, were initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford.

Graduation with Honors

Graduation with honors is awarded to those students who have achieved excellence in their course work in the Department and undertaken a balanced program inside and outside the major. The Spanish Department criteria for awarding honors to its majors are as follows:

GPA in the major of 3.5

A cumulative GPA of 3.4

Participation in SEPC and/or related departmental activities

Completion of a third seminar in a third area of study offered by the department.

Students convicted of academic dishonesty are not eligible for honors, except students who commit only one offense and receive a less-than-normal penalty for the offense.Students should speak with academic advisors for more detailed information.

Allison Brinkhorst, 2010Sucre, Bolivia

This summer I spent 4 weeks in Sucre, Bolivia. My trip was comprised of a homestay, Spanish classes at Academia Latinoamericana, and volunteering at Hogar Mallorca. Mallorca is a home for 80 working boys age 6-17. They study, eat, play and sleep at Mallorca, so I played with them and helped them with their homework. They were very excited to learn English from me, and often asked me for help with their math homework. I also came up with educational games that they really enjoyed.

I really loved the city itself and the relationships I built so quickly with family, other international friends, and the boys at Hogar Mallorca. My Spanish improved so much while I was there too! While I was originally unsure if I should take any Spanish classes while there, I'm very glad that I did. I was put in classes that were learning grammar that I had already learned at Grinnell, but with 4 hours of class each day, I really had the time to practice speaking, and this helped everything come to me much more quickly and naturally outside of class. The full-time immersion really helped too.

I would really suggest trips like this to everyone. It was so rewarding to have traveled with the purpose of volunteering. I still got just as much out of it as if I had been traveling just for my own sake, but with this month I was able to donate my own time and knowledge and privilege, giving back to the country for the great experience that it gave me.

If you're interested in a trip at all like this, I would recommend AmeriSpan Study Abroad, which serves as kind of a middleman to set up your housing, schooling, and volunteering in whatever configuration you want and wherever in the world you want. Their website is www.amerispan.com.

Thomas Davis '10Hazel McCallion SchoolQuito, Ecuador

I basically created my own internship, but I worked through a Colombian Mennonite missionary family (Cesar and Patricia Moya) whose sons went to my high school during my senior year and who I had become good friends with. I contacted them and set up the work I would do with them, as well as my work in the primary school. The school's name is Hazel McCallion, in the neighborhood of El Inca. The Moya's set me up with Nancy and Solano, who are the directors of Hazel McCallion. At the school, I taught English to each grade (kids ages 4 to 7) for three hours each day and I helped the Moyas with a number of their projects: I helped set up and run a Saturday afternoon program for very poor children in Quito, created and lead a youth leadership meeting, met with indigenous church leaders in the Amazon region and made house visits to Colombian refugees. Because of the personal nature of my internship, all my work was tailored to my specific experience. Hazel McCallion's directors would love to have Grinnell students teach and Cesar and Patricia have numerous projects in which one can help. I would definitely recommend looking into working with the directors of Hazel McCallion. They would provide housing, food, and some trips to famous places in Ecuador. Thus, if someone would be interested, email me at davistho[at]grinnell[dot]edu or Nancy and Solano directly at hazelschool_ecuador[at]hotmail[dot]com. Cesar and Patricia may not be in Quito for much longer and working with them is quite an experience, but it is definitely an experience worth looking into. Email me if you would like to contact them. I received a Lily Grant from Grinnell for my four weeks in Quito. To get it, you have to work through the CDO office and it's a great way to get some money for such an endeavor.

Brij Patnaik '05Hospital Eugenio EspejoQuito, Ecuador

This past summer I did a Rosenfield-sponsored internship at Hospital Eugenio Espejo in Quito, Ecuador. In planning the internship I wanted to find something that would give me experience in a health-related field, which I'm considering working in, and immerse me in a Spanish-speaking environment. Luckily, my friend Felipe Bautista '02 had spent a summer working at Hospital Espejo in his hometown of Quito and was able to recommend the hospital to me and give me information about whom I should contact to arrange things. My role at the hospital was generally that of a medical student. Most of my time was spent shadowing doctors, discussing patient's cases, participating in academic lectures and conferences, etc. I was also able to help out in an ad hoc manner by assisting in examinations and treatments, acquiring information from new patients, and taking care of paperwork. My time in Ecuador was really invaluable to my ability to use Spanish. I now feel confident in my ability to keep up with native speaker's pace and accents, and can communicate my own ideas with much less effort. I also learned a lot of medical jargon that I may need in a future career. I think doing this internship or a similar one would be valuable for others. In planning a future internship, I would recommend getting as much information up front as possible because the nature of health care seems to vary a lot in Latin America. But it is probably universally true that you can have a more active role in the process than can be gotten in the United States.

My name is Lucinda Richard and I did an internship in the summer of 2004, after I had studied abroad. I studied abroad in Merida, Mexico, and wanted to stay in the same city to do my summer internship. I am a Global Development Studies concentrator, so I went to Montgomery Roper and asked him about scholarship opportunities for development-related internships. He told me about the Sunnen Foundation Grant--a summer internship grant that provides two students with the opportunity to study world population issues. I received the Sunnen Foundation Grant and worked for eight weeks, full-time, with UNASSE (Unidad de Atención Sicológica, Sexológica y Educativa por el crecimiento personal). I found out about UNASSE from a student who had volunteered there while studying abroad in Merida the year before I went. To students who are interested in similar work, I would recommend looking at the website www.unasse.com or calling (the code to call out of the US, plus the following number) 999.987.41.07 and asking to talk to Maribel, my boss, or Doña Mirna, the secretary. During my internship, I helped facilitate sex education classes that we gave at public, government-run middle schools around Merida. We also gave sex education workshops at some middle schools in surrounding pueblos. I also helped run the youth after-school programs in three different marginalized communities in the city. This was an incredible experience that I would definitely recommend outgoing students who want to improve their already-advanced Spanish speaking skills. The student must be fairly advanced in Spanish because a lot of my interactions involved joking around with my coworkers (who were some of my best friends by the end). If the student I did the internship in the summer of 2003. I found out about the internship through networking and then by directly contacting persons in charge. I spend my winter vacation in El Salador prior to my summer experience and while I was there I interviewed with Save the Children and USAID. I had several other organizations on the list, but after my second interview I was offered a position with Save the Children. I would say the best way to get information is to try to find a contact with either a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador or any other mayor organization that is doing work in El Salvador (USAID would be another good contact). I was able to do my internship with the funds provided to me by the college through the Rosenfield Program. The specific project that I did within Save the Childen was called the Permanent Housing Project Phase II. The housing project was a strategic response of the U.S. government in conjunction with the Salvadoran government to the earthquake of 2001 that hit the country. I worked in the Community Organization part of the project, which entailed working directly with beneficiaries of the program and helping them understand and participate in various phases of the project (from legal issues with respect to land ownership to contract building). I worked with a Salvadoran counterpart 8h a day, which immensely helped my Spanish. Immersion is just priceless. After my experience in El Salvador, I did a semester abroad in Costa Rica, which to be honest, was a piece of cake after already having the experience in El Salvador. I would definitely recommend an experience like this to anyone interested in Latin American culture, economic development, non-profit based work (human rights, child labor etc.), because an experience like this truly enforces the classroom work where we learn about all these issues. An experience like this is highly culturally enriching and very educational in nature, as well; educational beyond what one can get from a classroom.struggles with basic Spanish, he or she would feel very left out at work. I feel like this internship has caused me to reconsider how I will use Spanish in my post-graduate life and has made me more interested in being involved in Grinnell's Spanish department activities because I don't want to lose the fluency I gained in Merida.

I did the internship in the summer of 2003. I found out about the internship through networking and then by directly contacting persons in charge. I spend my winter vacation in El Salvador prior to my summer experience and while I was there I interviewed with Save the Children and USAID. I had several other organizations on the list, but after my second interview I was offered a position with Save the Children. I would say the best way to get information is to try to find a contact with either a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador or any other mayor organization that is doing work in El Salvador (USAID would be another good contact). I was able to do my internship with the funds provided to me by the college through the Rosenfield Program. The specific project that I did within Save the Childen was called the Permanent Housing Project Phase II. The housing project was a strategic response of the U.S. government in conjunction with the Salvadoran government to the earthquake of 2001 that hit the country. I worked in the Community Organization part of the project, which entailed working directly with beneficiaries of the program and helping them understand and participate in various phases of the project (from legal issues with respect to land ownership to contract building). I worked with a Salvadoran counterpart 8h a day, which immensely helped my Spanish. Immersion is just priceless. After my experience in El Salvador, I did a semester abroad in Costa Rica, which to be honest, was a piece of cake after already having the experience in El Salvador. I would definitely recommend an experience like this to anyone interested in Latin American culture, economic development, non-profit based work (human rights, child labor etc.), because an experience like this truly enforces the classroom work where we learn about all these issues. An experience like this is highly culturally enriching and very educational in nature, as well; educational beyond what one can get from a classroom.

Activities and Organizations

Hora cultural: ¡Hablemos en español!

Students are invited to Spanish House (1316 Park St.) at :30 p.m. on Mondays to meet with the Spanish Language Assistant for informal conversation.

Spanish Lab

The Spanish lab is open Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 7 - 9 p.m., in ARH 223 (Spanish Seminar Room)

The Spanish Language Assistant and two tutors are available to help students with oral, listening, reading, and writing practice. This assistance is principally offered for students in the first four semesters.

SEPC

Spanish Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC)

In the fall of each year, majors in the Department elect members to the Spanish Student Educational Policy Committee. Responsibilities of the SEPC are:

To participate in the evaluation of instructors' teaching for contract renewals (third year) and for promotion and tenure

To participate in the departmental searches

To elect a representative to the SGA

To create a strong community of Spanish majors

To meet with the staff to discuss issues related to the department's curriculum and extracurricular activities

To collaborate in the publication of the Spanish Newsletter

Student Organization of Latinos/as

Student Organization for Latinos and Latinas (SOL) is "designed to focus on the unique cultural experiences of students of Latino heritage. Our organization coordinates activities highlighting the cultural diversity of the Latino community and aims especially to educate the campus community about the Latino community in the United States. We seek to break down and eliminate common stereotypes and to assert the impact--political, cultural, and economic--of Latinos and Latinas throughout society."

Volunteering

MICA (The Mid-Iowa Community Action program)

MICA is a private, non-profit agency that delivers programs and services to income-eligible families. This organization often is in need of multiple Spanish translators in order to communicate with the families of children in Head Start programs in Grinnell -in the classroom, at monthly home-visits and during family nights. MICA employees typically pick up interested students from their dorm rooms and provide transportation to and from these locations.

Woodbury School

ESL - English as a Second Language

Twila Rosenow works with four different schools in the Grinnell-Newburg School District and is responsible for working with students who have another language in their background, for integrating students into their classrooms and building language skills, vocabulary and cultural awareness. Volunteers are needed to help tutor students, to work with them in one-on-one instruction and to help them build vocabulary and confidence.

GED classes are held at Iowa Valley Grinnell Center (123 6th Avenue West) on Monday and Wednesday from 1-4 pm and Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6-9 pm. Volunteers are needed to work one on one with students, especially helping with reading, math, social studies and science skills. Bi-lingual skills helpful, especially Spanish.

Spanish House

Each spring interested students will be able to sign up to live in the Spanish House (1316 Park). The Spanish Assistant will always live in the Spanish House and often other native speakers do so as well. Students who have been abroad or are planning to study off-campus have often taken advantage of this opportunity.Preference to live in the house will be given to students who:

are Spanish majors

will be taking Spanish classes when living in the house

will be studying abroad, in a Hispanic country, after living in the house

are coming back from off-campus study in a Hispanic country

are native speakers

participate regularly in the activities offered by the Spanish Department and Spanish House